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Wrapping Up: Winners, losers at NFL Combine

The stopwatches have been put away. The NFL Scouting Combine ended Tuesday in Indianapolis with the defensive backs being the final position group to conduct on-field workouts.

So which prospects fared the best, which stumbled and which unheralded players showed off some elite athleticism?

Times-Union sports writer Hays Carlyon breaks down the winners, losers and physical freaks from this combine.

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Stock Up: Clemson WR Martavis Bryant

Bryant (6-3, 211) turned in a faster time than his hyped teammate, Sammy Watkins, running the 40-yard dash in 4.42 compared to 4.43 for Watkins. Bryant also posted a 39-inch vertical jump.

Watkins will likely be the receiver first off the board on May 8, but Bryant likely solidified a second-round grade heading into his pro day.

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Stock Up: South Carolina DE Jadeveon Clowney

Clowney (6-5, 266) lived up to the considerable hype, clocking a 4.53 in the 40. He posted a better time than the two linebackers, Buffalo’s Khalil Mack and UCLA’s Anthony Barr, who are vying with Clowney to be the first defender drafted.

Mack and Barr ran a 4.65 and 4.64, respectively, and weighed far less than Clowney.

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Stock Up: Michigan State CB Darqueze Dennard

Dennard’s film is brilliant as he won the Thorpe Award this past season. He needed to post a quality 40 time, and he accomplished that with a 4.51.

Dennard (5-10, 199) is physical and fast and is almost certain to be the first cornerback off the board.

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Stock Up: Pittsburgh DT Aaron Donald

Donald (6-0, 285) belongs in any first-round mock draft now. While his size is an issue, he displayed sensational quickness.

Donald ran the 40 in 4.68 seconds and showed his bulk by bench pressing 225 pounds 35 times. Offensive linemen at the combine raved about Donald as much or more than Clowney.

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Stock Up: Auburn OT Greg Robinson

Robinson (6-5, 332) jumped Texas A&M’s Jake Matthews in many eyes in regard to being the best left tackle in the draft.

Robinson recorded a much faster 40 time than Matthews at 4.92 and put up more on the bench, doing 32 reps.

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Stock Down: Central Florida QB Blake Bortles

Bortles (6-5, 232) was billed as a great speed-and-size combo coming to Indy, but only the size showed up. Bortles ran the ninth-fastest 40 time among quarterbacks at 4.93.

The perception of him now changes to more of a pocket quarterback without the extra dimension of splendid mobility. Bortles also didn’t seem to dazzle anyone during his on-field passing drills.

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Stock Down: Auburn DE Dee Ford

Ford (6-2, 252) left the Senior Bowl with a ton of momentum, but it evaporated in Indy. He was flagged by the combine’s medical staff for a concern over back surgery in 2011. Uh, oh.

That’s about the last thing a prospect flirting with the first round needs on his resume. Ford wasn’t cleared to do any on-field workouts.

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Stock Down: Alabama OT Cyrus Kouandjio

No prospect was hurt more at the combine. Kouandjio (6-6, 322) ran a glacial 5.59 in the 40.

Then, things got worse, as NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported that Kouandjio was flagged numerous times regarding the health of his knee. He’ll likely fall out of the first round in May.

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Stock Down: LSU WR Jarvis Landry

In a year that features perhaps the deepest pool of wide receiver talent ever, setbacks are likely going to be costly.

Landry (5-11, 205) severely damaged his stock, running a 4.77 time in the 40. He’ll have to do much better than that at LSU’s pro day on April 9 or risk tumbling down draft boards.

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Stock Down: Florida State RB James Wilder Jr.

Running backs have a hard enough time getting drafted high these days when they run well.

Wilder (6-2, 232) turned in a disappointing time of 4.86 in the 40. To put that in perspective, Michigan offensive tackle Taylor Lewan (6-7, 309 pounds) clocked a 4.87.

Janis (6-2, 219) has a physical frame and speed to match with a 4.42 40 time. He also did 20 reps on the bench, proving he’s strong enough to beat press coverage.

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Physical Freak: Virginia Tech QB Logan Thomas

In addition to his height and weight, Thomas (6-6, 248) also had the biggest hands of any quarterback at the combine (10 7/8 inches). He also was the fastest, running the 40 in 4.61 seconds.

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Physical Freak: Minnesota DB Brock Vereen

Vereen (5-11, 199) displayed tremendous strength with 25 reps on the bench. He also ran a 4.47 to increase his stock.

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Physical Freak: Bloomsburg DE Larry Webster

Webster (6-5, 252) kept Clowney from running away from all the defensive linemen, running an impressive time of 4.58. That kind of speed off the edge will get Webster some additional looks from scouts.